Six of the Best 374

"Today's announcement has shown three things: a) that the House of Lords is a needlessly ever-expanding, over-expensive chamber, b) that the appointments system rewards those with either a vested interest in the status quo or who are part of their party's 'establishment', and c) that the Liberal Democrats still don't understand the real meaning of diversity." A Scottish Liberal gets it right.

Policymic shows that President Obama's old campaign website has quietly removed his pledge to protect whistleblowers.

"Incredibly, Pathfinder, the policy of managed decline in our northern cities, which accounted for the demolition of tens of thousands of homes in the north of England under Labour, is stirring again. The chancellor is trying to get more homes built, the economy is growing and this scheme - misconceived from the start - has been proved nonsensical by the census, which shows that the northern cities grew over the past decade, in Liverpool's case by 5.5%." Save Britain's Heritage reprints a Sunday Times article by Charles Clover.

"The Church of Merthyr Issui at Patricio (now Partrishow) inhabits its location high up on the western slope of the Grwyne Fawr valley in the Black Mountains as only an ancient country church can do" says Landscapism.

Rag-Picking History visits Manchester: "Barely a stone’s throw from Manchester’s bustling transport hub that is Piccadilly station lies the latter’s ghostly doppleganger: the disused Mayfield railway station. Opened in 1910 by the London & North Western Railway Company, this gigantic building operated as a relief-station for the overcrowded Piccadilly next door. In line with Manchester’s industrial decline, Mayfield was closed to passengers in 1960 and permanently shut down in 1968. After years of abandonment and numerous proposals for redevelopment, work began on dismantling the enormous structure in February 2013."

Deadline. reveals that Christian biology textbooks no longer use the Loch Ness Monster to cast doubt on evolution.